Chinese report claims Tibetan permafrost will be gone by 2100

About 80 per cent of the permafrost on the Tibetan plateau will melt by 2100, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Permafrost on the Tibetan plateau. Image by Preston Rhea / CC BY-SA 2.0

A study conducted by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that current trends in rising temperatures will reduce the permafrost (perennially frozen ground) by 39 per cent in ‘the near future’ and by up to 81 per cent by the year 2100. More than half of the Tibetan plateau is currently covered in permafrost. The study also showed increasing desertification on the plateau, which in combination with the melting permafrost could lead to deterioration of the surface land across the plateau. Read more: cntv.cn